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Species
There are numerous species throughout Azeroth, including orcs, humans, gnomes, trolls, and murlocs, among many others. There can also be generations of offspring from interfertile parents of two different species. They maybe the first generation of a new hybrid species . Many races can interbreed including dwarves, high elves, night elves, trolls, goblins, orcs, tauren - producing races like half-elves, half-night elves, half-ogres, half-human half-ogres, half-draenei, half-giants, mongrelmen, harpies and dragonspawn. These offspring are often called half-breeds. Satyr, dryads, keepers of the grove, centaur, magnataur and nerubians, may also be truly hybrid races. Definition In World of Warcraft, Blizzard interchanges the terms species and race giving them roughly the same meaning. Humans are the dominant (as in, “most obvious”) intelligent species on Azeroth, but they are by no means alone. Elves, dwarves, tauren, imports such as orcs, and so on all share the world with humanity. In some cases, such races have proven far more influential than humanity over the long term. In the Warcraft Universe races like elves, dwarves, humans, orcs, draenei, ogres, goblins, tauren, etc, are considered separate speciesThe Dark Portal and the Fall of Stormwind and seperate races. For example, since the beginning of the First War, orcs have interbred with a number of species that vary largely in appearance; mostly with humans, but half-ogres and half-draenei are not unheard of. In the RPG each seperate playable race is considered a species/race and/or depending on source a subspecies/subrace within a base type. For example high elves, blood elves, night elves and highborne are considered seperate race/species or subspecies/subrace within the elven type. Unfortunately Blizzard isn't always consistent on how they use the terms. Sometimes using the term 'race' when they meant the biological definition of 'species'. This has lead conflicts between sources, where one source says blood elves and high elves are the same 'biological race'('biological species' would have been a more proper use of words in that syntax), when most sources say they are seperate races (culturally and biologically). Known lore "species" This is a list of sapient "species" established in lore. Additionally, each grouping within the same group such as various types of dwarves, elves, or trolls are considered seperate species/race or subspecies depending on the source. *Centaur *Human *Orc *Elf *Tauren *Dwarf *Troll *Magnataur *Murloc *Nerubian *Pandaren *Harpy *Half-ogre *Dragon *Scalebane *Flametongue *Furbolgs *Ogre *Gnome *Gnoll *Draenei *Quilboar *Wyrmkin *Wyvern "subspecies" *Dwarf subspecies can include Wildhammer, Ironforge, or Dark Iron dwarves. *The various types of trolls are usually considered separate subspecies, though occasionally separate species . The terms appear to be interchangeable to Blizzard. Speculation based on real-world definitions In English race and species can be synonyms, i.e. mean the same thing or have similar meaning in certain contexts. :Main Entry: race :Part of Speech: noun 2 :Definition: ethnic group :Synonyms: blood, breed, clan, color, cultural group, culture, family, folk, house, issue, kin, kind, kindred, line, lineage, nation, nationality, offspring, people, progeny, seed, species, stock, strain, tribe, type, variety.http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/race However, usually in science, such as biology, a species is more accurately defined as "the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species" and the term is not to be confused with race (usually synonymous with 'subspecies'). It should also be noted that; :race is now under dispute among modern biologists and anthropologists. Some feel that the term has no biological validity; others use it to specify only a partially isolated reproductive population whose members share a considerable degree of genetic similarity.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/race In reality there are examples of two separate species mating and having offspring. Usually this produces sterile offspring, but this is not always the case , see Hybrid, for a few examples of fertile hybrids (and details how hybrid species happen). Because of this the term "species" is hard to truly define. A good example is the debate on whether neanderthals and homo sapiens are the same species, separate subspecies (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens), or different species (Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis), and if they could reproduce together (including whether the young would be fertile or infertile). Based on real world definitions, orcs and humans, may or may not belong to the same species (Homo sapiens), but not the same race (subspecies). It would be within the realm of science that orcs and humans could still be classified as two seperate species even though they produce fertile offspring, similar to hybrids like the beefalo. If orcs and humans were the same 'species' this would make them both Homo Sapiens, which would make them both 'human', probably seperate human subspecies. However this would go against how subspecies is already used within Warcraft literature. Species speculation (based on known half-breeds) :┐ :├ Orc┐ :│ └ (Alleged: Fel Orcs) :├ Draenei┐ :│ └ (Alleged: Eredar, Broken, Lost Ones) :├ Human :├ Troll┐ :│ └ (Alleged: Night Elves, High elves, Blood elves, Wretched, Naga, Satyrs, Harpies) :└ Ogre :┐ :└ Earthen — (Alleged: Iron Dwarves, Dwarves, Troggs) :┐ :└ Gnome — (Alleged: Leper Gnomes, Sand Gnomes) :┐ :└ Tauren — (Alleged: Taunka) :┐ :└ Pandaren — (Alleged: Furbolgs) :┐ :├ Cenarian :└ Centaur :┐ :└ Aqir┐ :│ └ (Alleged: Qiraji, Nerubians) :└ Silithid :┐ :└ Mo'arg — (Alleged: Felguard, Gan'arg) :┐ :└ Nathrezim — (Alleged: Tothrezim) References